Apparatus for offshore coring



Jan. 12, 1954 J. R. GIGNOUX 2,665,885

APPARATUS FOR OFFSHORE CORING Filed Oct. 25. 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l lnveni'on dohfi R.Giqnoux His M'i'orneq Jan. 12, 1954 Filed Oct. 25. 1948 g riswx A J. R. Grcswoux APPARATUS FOR OFFSHORE CORING IIIIII,

2 Sheets-Sheet \nveninn John kciiqnoux His AH-orneq Patented Jan. 12, 1954 2,665,885 APPARATUS FOR OFFSHORE CORING John R. Gignoiii, San Gabriel, Cairn, assigner to Shell Development Company, San

Francis cd,

Gaiit, a corporation of Delaware Application October 25, 1948, Serial No. 56,372

This invention pertains toe, methozi and apparatu's for obtaining formationcores from terrain submer'geu under bodies of water s'ueh lakes, shallow coastal waters, etc., and pertains l more particularly to a wire line coring appara: tus, and to a method for obtaining tor-es in offshbi'e drilling operations.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a coring apparatus ada ted to be lowered by a wire line t6 the formation to be cored, said coring apparatus ear-tying means for removing or penetrating a layer of silt or sediment whereby the apparatus {may be {Jositioned in direet contact with the formation. I

Another object of this inventidnis to eliminate the need or securely anchoring a barge in an aecurat'ely determined position dining coring operations by roviding a coring appa'rati'is adapted to be lowered b3? 21 wire line to said submerged formation and to be opei-ativeiy positioned thereon, independently of the barge, Said. apparatus being connected to the barge duri'ng ear-mg op= erations by flexible authoring and power transmission lines. N

These anti other ebjeetsei this invention will be understood from the renewing ueser'iption of preferred embodiments of the apparatus or the resent invention as shown ih'the accompanying drawing wherein: V v

Figure 1 is a view showing the embodiment of the present coring appar s in p ion for coring submerged formations, with aux liary coring equipment carried on an accompanying b "re'e.

Figures 2 and 3 are views, partly in len'gitudinal cross section, of an embodiment of the present coring apparatus, Figure 3 shewine the iower part of the device of Figure 2.

Figures 4 and 5 are longitudinal cross=sectiohai views of coring barrels used with the present coring apparatus.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a support means.

Figure 7 is a view, partly in cross section, of another embodiment of the present coring apparatus. V

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional View taken airing the line 8-8 of Figure '7. 7

Referring to Figure 1 of the starv ng, numeral In represents a barge or other suitable vessel equipped with suitable derrick and hoisting means such as a mast H, boom l2, power-driven winch l3 and a cable or wire line M The boom is of a length sufficient to swing a load over one side or end of the vessel Ill whereby it may be lowered into the water. As illustrated in Figure l, the

clia

present boring apparatus 15 is secured to the end of the wirei'ine M by which it may be lowered to the ocean floor It, being positioned thereon in a substantially verticai position.

In a preferred embodiment of the present apparatu's, a suitable flexible power transmission line or eo'nduit it (either electrical pnuematic or Hydraulic) be in" communication between the apparatus i5 and a suitable power source [9 (Such as a generator, compressor or pump) on board the vessel 10. A second flexibie conduit 29 may be in communication between a pump 2] on the vessel It] anti the apparatus It for sup= pl'yi'n a flushing Tiuid thereto. Suitable hoisting' means 22 and 23', such as power winches, may be carried by the vessel it} for reeling in the con duits i8 and 26, respectively, when the coring apparatus is withdrawn from the water.

A preferred embodiment of the present coring apparatus, as hown in Figure has" a longitudinal outer casing 24 preferably provided with a closed iowe r end 2'5 and closed at its upper ene 26 by a stufiin g b03627 containing suitable packuse material 28 and a packinggiane, or hut, 2'9. The sturfine boxer may be see'urea tothe outer asifig in suitable ihahiiii; as by flanges 30, serew threads, game like. "The peeking sierra 29 afitl the losd lower fld 25 (if the outer easi112 23 have axial bores 3| and 32 thei' thioiigh, respectively. 01 1801 more tubin guides 33 and n ne y be iiiidli seeu'red in spaced relationship With eeeh other Withii'i the olltr easing 25 iii any Suitable .inafiiii', as by Welding, pii ii'iiiig, Giiinping, Or the lili; Thgiliti means 33 anti 3'4 are normally supplied with opiiiiigS 3S Whiii serve as fluid conduit m ans.

The akial bO'rel'S' of the packing glaiid zti and tubing guides 33 and as are of equal diameter being adapted to mount, for vertical sliding movement t erein, a tubing member 31 having a length Siifiiiht to extend from below the ldv'verinost tubing guide 3-5 to a ednsiderabie distaii above the 'Stiifiiiig B635 2?. A Cable 01" Wir lih H8 is se u'red t0 the Closed upper fld Oi th tubing fiimbr 3'! for hoisting the apparatus to the barge m (Figure 1'). I

A rime mover "means as is fixedly secured, as by SrtvthiadS to the iewer hd er the 11115- iIig member 37 and is 'slidabli movable therewith Within the outer casing i. Since the prime mover means 3'8 is lowered as the coring operation progresses, the coring 'unit may be described as one of the advancing-motor type.

t suitable electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic prime mover means may be need, said means being either of the rotating or reciprocating type. Preferably, an electric motor of the rotating type or an air operated hammer of the reciprocating type is used. The mechanism of such prime mover means, forming no part of this invention and being well known in the art in connection with the use of pneumatic hammers, hydraulic drills, etc., will not be described here.

The prime mover means 38 is diagrammatically shown for illustration purposes as an air operated pavement breaker having a downwardly extending shaft 39 to which a core barrel 40 is secured in any suitable manner, as by screw threads.

A preferred embodiment of the core barrel 40 is shown in Figure 4, having a detachable cutting nosepiece 4i threaded to the lower end thereof. A core catcher 42, of any type well known to the art, is aflixed to the inside of said nosepiece 4| or said core barrel 4D to retain a core as it is forced up said barrel. The upper end of the core barrel 40 may have one or more fluid ports 46 through the wall thereof. Preferably, a valve cage 43 having a ball valve 44 therein, inlet port means 45 and outlet port means 46, is secured to the top of the barrel. Thus, as a core is forced upward into said barrel in, any water therein is forced through the inlet and outlet port means 45 and 46, respectively. If desired, compression springs 41 and 48, or any other suitable type of shock absorber, may be mounted above and below the prime mover means 38, spring 48 being housed in the closed lower end 25 of the outer casing 24. Preferably, the lower tubing guide 34 serves as upper stop means for limiting the upward travel of the prime mover means 38 within the outer casing 24. The closed lower end of casing 24 serves as lower stop means.

With the prime mover means 38 at its uppermost position within the outer casing 24, the cutting edge 49 of the core barrel 40 may extend slightly below the casing. If a rotary prime mover means is used, a core barrel 50 having cutting teeth in its cutting edge is employed, as shown in Figure 5. One or more fluid port means through the closed end 25 of the casing may be in communication between the annular space 56 (i. d., the space between the tubing member 31 and the outer casing 24) and the outside of said casing. Preferably, the axial bore 32 through the closed lower end 25 of the outer casing 24 is larger in diameter than the outside diameter of the core barrel 40 whereby annular fluid port means are formed between said barrel 40 and casing end 25 for discharging, in a downwardly direction, any fluid pumped through said casing. It is evident, however, that a plurality of openings drilled in the closed lower end 25 of the casing could readily be substituted as the fluid outlet means.

Secured in any suitable manner, as by welding, to the outer casing 24, preferably near the upper end thereof is a fluid inlet port 52. Secured to the tubing member 3! in a similar manner, at or near the upper end thereof, is a similar fluid inlet port 53. Connected to the fluid inlet ports 52 and 53 are conduits 2t and i8, respectively, made of a flexible material such as rubber, canvas, rubberized canvas or the like. Preferably, the conduits 20 and I8 are connected to a universal-joint conduit means such as double swivel joints 54 and 55 which may be flanged to the fluid inlet ports 52 and 53, respectively. Thus the flexible conduit l8, double swivel joint 55 and tubing member 31 form power transmission conduit means in communication between the power source 19 on the barge Ill and the prime mover means 38 secured to the lower end of the tubing member 31. In a like manner, the flexible conduit 20, the double swivel joint 54, the annular space 56 between the tubing member 31 and the outer casing 24, the annular space 51 between the prime mover means 38 and the outer casing 24, and the auxiliary openings 35 through the tubing guides 33 and 34, all form fluid conduit means in communication with a pump or compressor 2| on the barge ill whereby fluid under pressure may be forced through said conduit means and discharged through the axial bore 32 in the closed lower end 25 of the outer casing 24 with a jetting action.

In coring operations, the present coring apparatus I5 is transported by the barge m to the desired location where the barge may be anchored. The assembled coring apparatus l5, having the flexible conduits l8 and 26 attached thereto, is lowered by means of the winch l3 and cable [4 to the ocean floor 15 (Figure 1). Since the ocean floor l6 may comprise a layer, several feet thick, of silt, sand, or other relatively loose material above the bedrock 58, it is necessary to force the coring apparatus through this layer of silt until the cutting edge of the core barrel 40 is in contact with the bedrock 58, as shown in Figure 1.

To accomplish this, the pump or compressor 21 on the barge I8 is started so that water, for example, is pumped down through conduit 20, double swivel joint 54, the annular spaces between the outer casing 24 and the tubing member 3a, prime mover means 38 and core barrel 4i], and out the annular discharge fluid port means between the core barrel 40 and the lower end 25 of the outer casing 24. The fluid, which is discharged downwardly with a strong jetting action, washes or forces any loose material away from the lower end 25 of the outer casing 24, thus permitting the coring apparatus I5 to sink or be lowered to the bedrock 58. As the apparatus I5 is lowered to the bedrock 58, the loose material washed away settles about the outer casing 24 to support the apparatus in a substantially vertical position.

In the event that the ocean floor is substantially free of loose material such as sand, silt, etc., the coring apparatus 15 may be supported in a substantially vertical position by the use of removable support or leg means, as shown in Figure 6. The leg means may be of any suitable construction having, for example, three or more legs 59 secured in any suitable manner, as by welding, to a collar 68 and extending downwardly and outwardly therefrom. The collar 69 may be removably secured to the outside of the casing by bolting. If desired, the legs 59 may be reinforced by cross braces Bl secured to a second collar 62 which is positioned coaxially with regard to collar 50. Also, bearing plates 63 may be secured, as by welding, at or near the lower ends of the legs 59 to prevent said legs to be forced into the ocean floor during coring operations. It is obvious that when the leg means are used to position the coring apparatus l5 on the bedrock 58, the flushing water conduit 20 may be disconnected and the apparatus 15 may be lowered intoposition having only the power transmission conduit and the cable attached thereto. When the coring apparatus is positioned against the bedrock 58, as shown in Figure 1, the flow of flushing water is discontinued by shutting off the pump 2| on the barge. The power source it, for example, an air compressor, "is turned on and compressed air passes through the conduit 2! double swivel joint 55 and tubing member 31 to the prime mover means 38 which, in this case, is a reciprocating air hammer. The reciprocating action of the air hammer 33 forces the core barrel it: into the bedrock '58 whereby a core is forced upwa rdlyinto the barrel, forcing any water therein out through the fluid passageways as and it. At the same time that the core barrel ii? is forced .into the bedrock, the action of the prime mover means 3'8 causes it, and the tubing member 3'! attached thereto, to slide d wnw-ard within the tubing guides 33 until "the prime'mover means contacts the spring #3. At this point the coring barrel Ali is withdrawn into the outer casing 24 by the upward pull on the cable is when the coring apparatus is lshoisted to the surface and onto the barge le. "During the upward travel of the apparatus to the surface, the core samp e (not -shown') is held within the core barrel "iii by the core catcher $2. The core is removed from the core-barrel E5 or another core barrel is secured to the prime mover means 35 before asecond core'is obtained.

It wiil be readily seen from the above description that cores ofbedrock underlying a body of water may be easily and-quickly obtained with the present apparatus instead of using a cumbersome rotary table carried 'by-a barge-and a string of pipe extendingtherefrom. It may also be seen-that'due totheuse of a flexible cable hi and flexible conduits le and as it is not necessary to firmly anchor the barge ill in place at thecoring location while a core is being obtained. Also, the simple and sturdy design of the pres ent coring apparatus permits the taking of cores with a minimum amount of labor and in a relatively short time.

Unlike coring devices used in boreholes, or in a rotary coring with a string of pipe, the present coring apparatus is'not limited in any manner as to size or shape. The outer casing may be of any desired length, diameter or shape (round, square or polygonal), the length being of importance only in the event that loose material covers the bedrock to be cored. In such a case the length of the outer casing should be great enough to extend through the layer of loose material while the conduit connections remain above the ocean ioor, as illustrated in Figure 1.

It is obvious that if an electric motor is used for the prime mover means 38 and if there is no loose material on the ocean floor to wash away before coring, both conduits l8 and 28 may be eliminated and a weight-supporting and currentconducting cable may be used. An embodiment of the present coring apparatus, shown in Figure '7, comprises a longitudinal outer casing 64 and an electric motor 65 mounted for sliding movement therein. Preferably, a motor having a watertight casing is used. A core barrel 55 is secured to the shaft 6'! of the motor, said barrel 66 extending through an axial bore in the closed lower end of the outer casing 64. The walls of the axial bore may form a guide or bearing means in which the core barrel 66 turns, or other bearing means may be secured to the lower end of the casing for aligning the barrel 6t. Preferably, the motor 65 is mounted for vertical sliding movement on longitudinal guide rails or tracks 68 and 553 which are affixed to the inner wall of the casing 66. A pair of guide blocks H! and ii are secured on either side of the motor 65, said blocks having longitudinal slots 12 and '33 (Figure 8) therein which -contact the guide rails 68 and -69 to allow vertical movement therealong while limitingany rotational movement of the motor ea It is obvious that any other suitable type of lohgitutlihal-g-uide and rotation limiting means may be employed whenever a rotating type prime mover means is used in the coring apparatus of the present invention.

' Referring to Figure the upward and dewmward movement of the motor as within the cats .ing as may be limited by compression springs i4 and 75 or other types of'sh'ock absorbing means. 'If desired, a spring-operated follower "plate it may be movably positioned between the motor and the spring 74. The apparatus is lowered to the o oeanfloor by a -load-suppcrting conduit means or cable 71 which is also adapted to conduct electrical power from a suitable power source on the accompanying barge. Cables oi this type are well known to the art. Any suitable support means may be armed or removabl'y a. cured to the outer-easing; in this embodinient the support means comprises a platform ES, pref :erably a plurality of interconnecting rods or bars forming a lattice or grill, a collar i8 secured to the outer casings B l and a plurality of legs Bil :aillxed to'the platform 18 and the collar '79 to position the outer casing 65 normal to the platform .78.

In the operation of a coring apparatus em pl'oyihg' a rotating type prime mover means, such, for example, as the electric motor 55 ShOWIl in the embodiment'oi Figure T, the weight of the motor is utilized to force the rotating coring barrel 55 into the formation being cored. 'If desired, additional weights may be secured to the motor.

I claim as my invention:

1. An apparatus adapted to be lowered below the surface of water to obtain cores from sub merged formations, comprising in combination an'outer elongated cylindrical housing member adapted to be lowered through the water and to be vertically positioned on the formation to be cored, said housing member having axially apertured closures at each end, an elongated inner member axially disposed within said housing member and in spaced relationship thereto to allow passage of fluid therebetwee'n, said inner member comprising prime mover means adapted for limited axial movement within said housing member, a tubing member fixedly connected to said prime mover means to one side thereof, the outer end of said tubing member slidably extending through the upper apertured closure of said outer housing member, a core barrel fixedly connected to the prime mover means to the other side thereof, the outer end of said core barrel slidably extending through the lower apertured closure of said outer housing member, conduit means extending from above the surface in communication with said outer housing member for supplying a. pressure fluid thereto, port means in the lower end of said housing member to permit said pressure fluid to jet therefrom, and flexible power transmission conduit means in communication between the surface and said tubing member for supplying motive power to said prime mover means.

2. An apparatus adapted to be lowered below the surface of water to obtain cores from submerged formations, comprising in combination an outer elongated cylindrical housing having axially apertured closures at the upper and lower ends thereof, an elongated inner member axially disposed within said outer housing and in spaced relationship thereto to allow passage of fluid therebetween, said inner member comprising reciprocating-type prime mover means adapted for limited axial movement within said housing, a tubing member fixedly connected to the top of said prime mover means, the outer end of said tubing member slidably extending through the upper apertured closure of said outer housing, a core barrel fixedly connected to the lower side of said prime mover means, the outer end of said core barrel slidably extending through the lower apertured closure of said outer housing, port means in said lower apertured closure, conduit means extending from above the surface in communication with said outer housing for supplying a pressure fluid thereto, whereby said pressure fluid may be forced through said outer housing and jetted through said port means, flexible power transmission conduit means extending from above the surface in communication with said tubing member for supplying motive power to said, prime mover means, and support means secured to the lower end of said outer housing for vertically positioning said apparatus on the formation to be cored.

3. An apparatus adapted to be lowered from a barge on a cable for obtaining cores from formations submerged under a body of water, said apparatus comprising, in combination, an elongated outer housing axially apertured at its lower and upper ends and adapted to be vertically positioned on the formation to be cored, an inner tubing member within the housin prime mover means affixed to the lower end of said tubing member within the housing, guide means positioning said tubing member and attached prime mover means coaxially within said housing for slidable movement therein, closure means for the annular space between said tubing member and housing at the top thereof, a downwardly extending shaft on said prime mover means, a core barrel coupled at its upper end to said shaft, a major length of said core barrel being adapted to be forced by said prime mover means through the axial aperture in the lower end of the housing, said inner tubing member, prime mover means and the-core barrel being in spaced relationship with the inner wall of said housing, fluid discharge means in the lower end of the housing through. the wall thereof, fluid inlet means near the upper end of said housing through the wall thereof, flexible conduit means attached to said fluid inlet means extending to the barge, fluid conducting conduit means attached to the tubing member in communication between said tubing member and the barge, said tubing member forming a power transmission channel within the housing to said prime mover means, said tubing member and prime mover means attached thereto being of a length at least equal to the length of the housing plus the length of the core barrel.

4. An apparatus for obtaining cores from formations submerged under water, comprising in combination an elongated outer housing adapted to be lowered through the water and to be vertically positioned on the formation to be cored, said housing having an axial aperture through its lower end, advancing-type prime mover means mounted for axial movement within said housing, a downwardly-extending core barrel within said housing having its upper end fixedly coupled to said prime mover means, and its lower end in register with said axial aperture in the housing, said prime mover means and said core barrel being in spaced relationship with the inner wall of said housing, conduit means extending from above the surface in communication with said prime mover means for supplying power thereto, whereby the major portion of the length of the core barrel is forced into the formation below the housing by the downward advance of said prime mover means, conduit means extending from above the surface in communication with said outer housing for supplying a pressure fluid thereto, and port means in the lower end of said housing to permit said pressure fluid to jet therefrom.

JOHN R. GIGNOUX.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNTIED STATESPATENTS Number Name Date 1,112,498 Van Es Oct. 6, 1914 2,176,477 Varney et a1. Oct. 17, 1939 2,181,512 Kirby Nov. 28, 1939 2,252,620 De Long Aug. 12, 1941 

